Here are a few short stories about my Bowman lineage.
1600s- It is believed the Bowman clan lived along the border territories of England and Scotland.
1700s-
The records show that Edmund Bowman who was born in London arrived in New Jersey in 1740 to fulfill his indentured servitude. He was 40 years old and was thought to have been a coopersmith for a wealthy wine merchant. He began repaying his debt in Maryland. Took him about four years. The following Bowman generations spread to Illinois, Ohio, Oklahoma and Missoura.
1800s-
Being practically a woodless prairie in the early days, settlements in Bates County, Missoura were few and far between. It was mainly a cattle and grazing territory when Boston Hiram Bowman settled on Bones Creek in 1855 and remained there till he died in 1868. He reared a family of ten. To feed this large brood, corn flour was needed. If the creek was low and they could not mill their own corn, they had to travel to another settlement. These trips by wagon often took a week or more.
The US Government made him leave his home during the Civil War. Afterwards, his family moved back. One afternoon the Lane gang from Kansas showed up wanting to kill Boston (who had been an Confederate soldier). He talked his way out of it.
1900s-
George L. Bowman. My grandfather. He ran D&G Cafe in Oklahoma during the 1940s. Never did make much money as he was always extending chits to his customers. After a day of rabbit hunting, he came home and collapsed in the living room. My father, who was 12 at the time knew it was bad. His father had begun to turn purple. Heart attack at the age of 45.
That is him below in his cafe. Ironically, I now have this photo above our pizza counter here in Thailand.
